Japanese 2-way player Shohei Ohtani narrows his list of MLB teams down to 7

Japanese pitcher and outfielder Shohei Ohtani has cut
the field of major league teams he is considering.

The list includes five teams on the West Coast, as well
as the Chicago Cubs and Texas Rangers.

NEW YORK (AP) — Japanese pitcher and outfielder Shohei Ohtani has
cut the field of major league teams he is considering to five
clubs on the West Coast plus the Chicago Cubs and Texas Rangers.

The Los Angeles Dodgers and Angels, San Francisco, San Diego and
Seattle all remain in contention.

Several teams said Sunday they were told they had been
eliminated, and the seven remaining were confirmed Monday to The
Associated Press by a pair of people familiar with the choices.
They spoke on condition of anonymity because not all teams had
announced whether they were in or out.

Ohtani is limited to a minor league contract because of
restrictions imposed by the MLB collective bargaining agreement.
The Rangers have the largest signing bonus amount remaining among
the teams he is considering at $3,535,000, followed by the
Mariners ($1,557,500) and Angels ($1,315,000). The Cubs, Dodgers
and Giants are restricted to $300,000 maximums in the signing
period through June 15 as penalties for exceeding their bonus
pools in 2015-16 and the Padres are limited to $300,000 for going
over in 2016-17.

"I started getting a feel that wasn't good a few days ago,"
Yankees general manager Brian Cashman told reporters at a holiday
event Sunday night in Stamford, Connecticut. "I can't change that
that we're a big market and I can't change we're in the East."

Ohtani was put up for bid Friday by the Pacific League's Nippon
Ham Fighters for the maximum $20 million posting fee. The
23-year-old has until 11:59 p.m. EST on Dec. 22 to agree to a
contract with an MLB team.